U.S. Naval Academy, Isherwood Hall, Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, MD
Summary
Significance: Isherwood Hall's significance derives from its architectural value as an element of the Ernest Flagg redevelopment of the Academy, its role in the development of military education, and its early use of the Hennebique structural system. Isherwood Hall is the only one of five structures to be demolished in 1981 which is part of Ernest Flagg's turn of the century redevelopment of the Naval Academy. It was not included, however, as were the principal buildings of the Academy, in Flagg's original 1895 sketch plan of his redevelopment scheme. Erected in 1905, Isherwood Hall was the home of the Department of Marine Engineering for almost its entire existence. Although no major technological breakthroughs or research of any significance is known to have taken place in Isherwood, the building was the site of the education of America's future naval officers in the changing technology of steam propulsion. The building itself was one of the earliest in the United States to make use of the Hennebique structural system, a prototype of reinforced concrete construction developed in France. The structural system of Isherwood, the Hennebique system, was very advanced for its time. The design is based on the placement of concrete and reinforcement to coincide with the moment and shear diagrams for continuous frame action, something not generally done in the United States until the 1920's. James M. Cutts, P.E., a structural engineer employed by the Navy in 1980 to examine the structural soundness of Isherwood Hall consulted with the American Concrete Institute on the historic significance of Isherwood and commented, "The information that we have gathered to date indicate that there is no known structure still standing built with the Hennebique system. Also, there does not appear to be any known drawings of other structures built with the Hennebique system."
Survey number: HABS MD-329-7
Building/structure dates: 1905
Building/structure dates: 1958 Demolished
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000386
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